Providing user information by presenting readable indicia with mobile device

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods and computer program products for providing user information to a merchant during a transaction. Embodiments may generate a readable indicia encoding user information and initiate display of the readable indicia on a display for presentation to the merchant such that the merchant may read the readable indicia and determine the user information stored in the readable indicia. Some embodiments receive and store the user information in the memory device, and receive user input requesting generation of the readable indicia. Some embodiments receive and store a plurality of profiles, where each profile is associated with some or all the stored user information and receives user input selecting one of the profiles, and receive user input requesting generation of the readable indicia based on the selected profile.

BACKGROUND

Sometimes, a person wishes to transfer information about themselves toanother person or entity, and often the person wishes to maintainsecrecy from parties outside a transaction and security of the person'sinformation.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods andcomputer program products for providing user information to a merchantduring a transaction.

According to embodiments of the invention, a system includes a memorydevice storing computer executable code and a processing device toexecute the computer executable code to cause the processing device togenerate a readable indicia encoding some or all the user information;and initiate display of the readable indicia on a display forpresentation to the merchant such that the merchant may read thereadable indicia and determine some or all of the user informationstored in the readable indicia.

In some embodiments, the computer executable code further causes theprocessing device to receive and store the user information in thememory device. In some embodiments, the computer executable code furthercauses the processing device to receive user input requesting generationof the readable indicia.

In some embodiments, the computer executable code further causes theprocessing device to receive and store the user information in thememory device; and receive and store a plurality of profiles, whereineach profile is associated with some or all the stored user information.In some such embodiments, the computer executable code further causesthe processing device to receive user input selecting one of theprofiles; receive user input requesting generation of the readableindicia based on the selected profile; and wherein generating thereadable indicia comprises encoding at least the user informationassociated with the profile selected by the user.

In some embodiments, generating the readable indicia encoding some orall the user information comprises generating the readable indicia tofurther encode payment information. In some such embodiments, themerchant completes the transaction based at least in part on the paymentinformation.

According to embodiments of the invention, a computer program product isconfigured for providing user information to a merchant during atransaction. The computer program product includes a non-transientcomputer readable medium having computer executable code stored thereonto cause a processing device to generate a readable indicia encodingsome or all the user information; and initiate display of the readableindicia on a display for presentation to the merchant such that themerchant may read the readable indicia and determine some or all of theuser information stored in the readable indicia.

In some embodiments, the computer executable code is further to causethe processing device to receive and store the user information in thememory device. In some embodiments, the computer executable code isfurther to cause the processing device to receive user input requestinggeneration of the readable indicia. In some embodiments, the computerexecutable code is further to cause the processing device to receive andstore the user information in the memory device; and receive and store aplurality of profiles, wherein each profile is associated with some orall the stored user information. In some embodiments, the computerexecutable code is further to cause the processing device to receiveuser input selecting one of the profiles; receive user input requestinggeneration of the readable indicia based on the selected profile; andwherein generating the readable indicia comprises encoding at least theuser information associated with the profile selected by the user.

In some embodiments, generating the readable indicia encoding some orall the user information comprises generating the readable indicia tofurther encode payment information. In some such embodiments, themerchant completes the transaction based at least in part on the paymentinformation.

According to embodiments of the invention, a computer-implemented methodfor providing user information to a merchant during a transactionincludes providing a memory device storing computer executable code anda processing device to execute the computer executable code to cause theprocessing device to generate a readable indicia encoding some or allthe user information; and initiate display of the readable indicia on adisplay for presentation to the merchant such that the merchant may readthe readable indicia and determine some or all of the user informationstored in the readable indicia.

In some embodiments, the computer executable code further causes theprocessing device to receive and store the user information in thememory device. In some embodiments, the computer executable code furthercauses the processing device to receive user input requesting generationof the readable indicia.

In some embodiments, the computer executable code further causes theprocessing device to receive and store the user information in thememory device; and receive and store a plurality of profiles, whereineach profile is associated with some or all the stored user information.In some such embodiments, the computer executable code further causesthe processing device to receive user input selecting one of theprofiles; receive user input requesting generation of the readableindicia based on the selected profile; and wherein generating thereadable indicia comprises encoding at least the user informationassociated with the profile selected by the user.

In some embodiments, generating the readable indicia encoding some orall the user information comprises generating the readable indicia tofurther encode payment information. In some such embodiments, themerchant completes the transaction based at least in part on the paymentinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of environment 100, in which systemsoperate according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method 200 for providing userinformation to a merchant during a transaction according to embodimentsof the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another method 300 for providing userinformation to a merchant during a transaction according to embodimentsof the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another method 400 for providing userinformation to a merchant during a transaction according to embodimentsof the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 for providinginformation from use of readable indicia according to embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another method 600 for providinginformation from use of readable indicia according to embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another method 700 for providinginformation from use of readable indicia according to embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 for providing userinformation to a merchant according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another method 900 for providing userinformation to a merchant according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another method 1000 for providinguser information to a merchant according to embodiments of theinvention; and

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating another method 1100 for providinguser information to a merchant according to embodiments of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention now may be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure may satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods andcomputer program products for providing user information to a merchantduring a transaction, for providing information from use of readableindicia, and/or for providing user information to a merchant. As usedherein, a “readable indicia” may be or include a code (e.g., a 2D codesuch as a barcode, a 3D code such as a Quick Response (QR) code, etc.).

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of environment 100, in whichsystems operate according to embodiments of the present invention isshown. FIG. 1 illustrates an environment 100 in which the third partysystem 120, the user system 110 and the merchant system 150 interactover a network 102. Each of the systems 120 and 150 communicate over thenetwork 102 with the user system 110. In some embodiments, one or moreof the systems 110, 120, and/or 150 communicate directly with oneanother.

In the various embodiments, the user system 110 is a computer system,mobile device or other computing device used by a client 104 or otheruser to interact with an organization's point of sale terminal, onlinecontent and the like, such as by communicating with the third partysystem 120 and/or the merchant system 150. The user system 110 includes,in the embodiment shown, a processing device 112 communicatively coupledwith a communication device 114 and a file system 116. The processingdevice, in some embodiments, is configured for controlling operation ofthe communication device 114 in order to communicate across the network102, such as, for example, with the financial institution system 120and/or the merchant system 150. The file system 116 is or includes amemory device or other memory configured for storing computer readableinstructions 118 such as an operating system, applications, such as abrowser and others, other computer program code and the like. In someembodiments, the computer readable instructions include a readableindicia program 119 or application configured for instructing theprocessing device 112 to generate a readable indicia encoding userinformation and/or perform one or more of the methods and/or stepsdiscussed herein and/or perform one or more transactions such as with apoint of transaction or point of sale of a merchant. The readableindicia program 119, in some embodiments, is configured for instructingthe processing device 112 to communicate with the third party system,120 and/or the merchant system 150 either directly or over one or moreexternal networks such that the user device may present readable indiciato other systems, communicate messages from the user of the user systemand/or potentially complete a transaction, among other things. Theprocessing device 112, of course, is configured for accessing and/orretrieving some or all the computer readable instructions 118 andexecuting some or all of them.

In one embodiment, for example, the network 102 is an intranet or otherlocal area network (LAN) and the user system 110, the third party system120, and the merchant system 150 are all part configured forcommunicating with one another across the intranet. In such anembodiment, the user system 110, when directed by the user 104 to accessa particular intranet webpage, uses a browser program to navigate to theintranet webpage. The browser then requests online interaction, such aswebpage content, from the third party system 120.

The third party system 120, in some embodiments, is a server such as anorganization server. The organization may be a financial institution insome embodiments. In other embodiments, the third party system 120represents another user's mobile device or other system. In some suchcases, the third party system 120 is considered part of one or morebackend systems of a bank. The third party system 120 includes, in someembodiments, a processing device 122 communicatively coupled with acommunication device 126 and a file system 124, such as a memory deviceor memory. The processing device 122 is configured for controllingoperation of the communication device 126 for communicating over thenetwork 102 such as with the user system 110 and/or the merchant system150. The file system 124 is configured for storing computer readableinstructions 128, such as, for example, the readable indicia program129, an operating system, other applications, other computer executableprogram code and the like. The readable indicia program 129 includesprogram code and/or instructions for performing one or more of themethods and/or method steps discussed herein. For example, in oneembodiment, the readable indicia program 129 is configured forinstructing the processing device 122 to read a readable indiciagenerated by the user device 110 and decode the readable indicia inorder to ascertain information about the user 104 of the user device110. The processing device 122, of course, is configured to accessand/or retrieve some or all the computer readable instructions 128 andexecute some or all of them.

The merchant system 150 is, in some embodiments, a server such as anorganization server, a computer system, another computing device or thelike. In some embodiments it includes or is a point of sale device orpoint of transaction device. The merchant system 150, in someembodiments, includes a processing device 152 communicatively coupledwith a communication device 154 and a file system 156. The processingdevice 152 is typically configured to control the communication devicefor communicating across the network 102 with one or more of the othersystems, such as the financial institution system 120 and/or the usersystem 110. The file system 156 is configured for storing computerreadable instructions such as a readable indicia program 159, anoperating system, other computer executable program code, applicationsand the like. The processing device 152 is configured for accessingand/or retrieving some or all the computer readable instructions 158from the file system 156 and executing some or all of them. In someembodiments, for example, the readable indicia program 159 includesprogram code configured to instruct the processing device 152 tocommunicate with the user device 110 either directly or over one or moreexternal networks in order to read a readable indicia generated by theuser device 110, and, in some embodiments, to complete a transactionwith the user of the user device 110 or otherwise interact.

Further, the embodiments described herein may refer to use of atransaction or transaction event. Unless specifically limited by thecontext, a “transaction” refers to any communication between the userand a merchant, financial institution, insurance company, or otherentity. A “transaction” may also include a bill, statement, purchase ata POT, online purchase, purchase at a merchant, and/or the like. Forexample, in some embodiments, a transaction may include one or more ofthe following: purchasing, renting, leasing, bartering, selling, and/orleasing goods and/or services (e.g., groceries, stamps, tickets, DVDs,vending machine items, or the like); withdrawing cash; making paymentsto creditors (e.g., paying monthly bills; paying federal, state, and/orlocal taxes and/or bills; or the like); sending remittances;transferring balances from one account to another account; loading moneyonto stored value cards (SVCs) and/or prepaid cards; donating tocharities; and/or the like. For example, a transaction may occur when auser purchases a product at a merchant. In yet other embodiments, forexample, a transaction may occur when an entity associated with the useris alerted. A transaction may occur when a user accesses a building,uses a rewards card, and/or performs an account balance query. Atransaction may occur as a user's device establishes a wirelessconnection, such as a Wi-Fi connection, with a point-of-transactionterminal.

In still further embodiments, a transaction may refer to an event and/oraction or group of actions facilitated or performed by a user's device,such as a user's mobile system, a merchant system, and/or a combinationthereof. A device capable of facilitating or performing a transactionmay be referred to herein as a “POT system” or “POT device.” A“point-of-transaction” or “POT” could refer to any location, virtuallocation or otherwise proximate occurrence of a transaction. A POTsystem may refer to any device used to perform a transaction, eitherfrom the user's perspective, the merchant's perspective or both. In someembodiments, the POT system refers only to a user's system, in otherembodiments it refers only to a merchant system, and in yet otherembodiments, it refers to both a user device and a merchant deviceinteracting to perform a transaction. For example, in one embodiment,the POT system refers to the user's mobile device configured tocommunicate with a merchant's system, whereas in other embodiments, thePOT system refers to a merchant's system configured to communicate witha user's mobile device, and in yet other embodiments, the POT systemrefers to both the user's mobile device and the merchant's systemconfigured to communicate with each other to carry out a transaction.

In some embodiments, a POT system is or includes an interactive computerterminal that is configured to initiate, perform, complete, and/orfacilitate one or more transactions. A POT system could be or includeany device that a user may use to perform a transaction with an entity,such as, but not limited to, an ATM, a loyalty device such as a rewardscard, loyalty card or other loyalty device, a magnetic-based paymentdevice (e.g., a credit card, debit card, or the like), a personalidentification number (PIN) payment device, a contactless payment device(e.g., a key fob), a radio frequency identification device (RFID) andthe like, a computer, (e.g., a personal computer, tablet computer,desktop computer, server, laptop, or the like), a mobile device (e.g., asmartphone, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) device, MP3device, personal GPS device, or the like), a merchant terminal, aself-service machine (e.g., vending machine, self-checkout machine, orthe like), a public and/or business kiosk (e.g., an Internet kiosk,ticketing kiosk, bill pay kiosk, or the like), a gaming device, and/orvarious combinations of the foregoing.

In some embodiments, a POT system is operated in a public place (e.g.,on a street corner, at the doorstep of a private residence, in an openmarket, at a public rest stop, or the like). In other embodiments, thePOT system, is additionally or alternatively operated in a place ofbusiness (e.g., in a retail store, post office, banking center, grocerystore, factory floor, or the like). In accordance with some embodiments,the POT system is not owned by the user of the POT system. Rather, insome embodiments, the POT system is owned by a mobile business operatoror a POT operator (e.g., merchant, vendor, salesperson, or the like). Inyet other embodiments, the POT system is owned by the financialinstitution offering the POT system providing functionality inaccordance with embodiments of the invention described herein.

In some embodiments, the readable indicia comprises visual indicia,e.g., a barcode, a Quick Response (QR) code, etc. The readable indiciamay comprises any one-dimensional or two-dimensional code. Inembodiments where the readable indicia is in electronic form, thereadable indicia may be dynamically generated after the user selects anoption to view the readable indicia (e.g., on the user's portable mobilecommunication device).

In some embodiments, the readable indicia, and optionally the payment,may be presented from a first user to a second user. The first user maypresent readable indicia on the first user's mobile device or may issuereadable indicia to the second user on a physical medium (e.g., paper).The readable indicia may represent a payment of an amount of funds. Thesecond user may receive information associated with the presentedreadable indicia using the second user's portable mobile communicationdevice. Therefore, as used herein, a merchant may be or include anindividual. The readable indicia may comprise any indicia, visual ornon-visual, where information associated with the indicia is receivableor readable (e.g., scannable) by the mobile device. For example, thereadable indicia is comprised in a tag (e.g., radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, near field communication (NFC) tag, etc.). Auser may bring a mobile device in close proximity to the tag in order toreceive information (e.g., readable indicia) associated with the tag. Insome embodiments, the readable indicia may be processed by at least oneof the mobile device or an external server to determine a link (e.g., ahyperlink) associated with the readable indicia. The user interface ofthe mobile device may present the link and may prompt the user to visitthe link. The link may transport the user to a user interface page forentering authentication credentials, during a payment transaction. Priorto enabling the user to enter the authentication credentials, one ormore mobile interface pages of advertisements may be presented to theuser.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart illustrates a method 200 forproviding user information to a merchant during a transaction. In someembodiments, the invention generates a readable indicia, such as a QRcode, that stores information related to the user. This information maybe provided to a merchant or other entity that reads or scans thereadable indicia, and then decodes the readable indicia, therebydetermining the user information encoded therein. In some instances, theuser may wish to pass identification information and/or contactinformation to a third party, similar to an electronic business card.The user may establish preferences, by entering them into the user'sdevice, which are stored either on the user's device or on a remoteserver, and those preferences may specify the amount of user informationthat is passed through the readable indicia. In some cases, the userestablishes a default profile for communicating a particular set of userinformation and in some cases, the user establishes other user profilesfor communicating distinct combinations of information. In someembodiments, a mobile wallet of the user's mobile device also uses thegenerated readable indicia for presenting payment information to amerchant.

For example, a user may be performing a transaction with a merchant at apoint of transaction. The user may initiate the mobile wallet of theuser's mobile device to generate a readable indicia such that thereadable indicia includes user-selected user information such aspreferred email address, name information, phone number and/or the like.The readable indicia may also include payment information such ascredit/debit card information and/or bank account information. The usermay then present the display of the mobile device to the merchant forreading of the readable indicia. The merchant scans the readableindicia, decodes it, and thereby knows the information included in it,such as the payment information and the user information such as emailaddress and the like. In some cases, the readable indicia may havedifferent or additional information encoded such as loyalty informationor otherwise. Thus, the user's personal information is not exposed toother nearby customers or the associate of the merchant.

The first step of method 200, represented by block 210 is to receive andstore user information, such as on a mobile device of a user. The mobiledevice may prompt the user to enter user information and the user mayselect which information to enter. The next step, represented by block220 is to generate a readable indicia encoding user information, such asduring a transaction between the user and a merchant. The user mayspecify which user information to be encoded in the readable indicia,and as discussed further below, the user may specify different profilesfor generating different readable indicia as desired. The next step,represented by block 230 is to initiate display of the readable indiciaon a display for presentation to a merchant. The display may be thedisplay of the mobile device or another display, such as a peripheraldisplay device connected, wired or wirelessly, with the mobile device ofthe user.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flowchart illustrates another method 300 forproviding user information to a merchant during a transaction. The firststep, represented by block 310, is to receive and store a plurality ofprofiles. Each of the profiles, in some embodiments, is associated withsome or all the stored user information. The user may input preferencesfor the plurality of profiles. For example, a user may want a highinformation profile that would generate a high information readableindicia and a low information profile that would generate a lowinformation readable indicia for presentation to a third party. The highinformation profile may include all of the user information inputted bythe user, whereas the low information profile may include only a smallportion of the user information inputted by the user, such as name andemail address. In some embodiments, default profiles are createdautomatically by the user's mobile device and/or mobile wallet. Forexample, the readable indicia program may intake all the userinformation and generates profiles based on the information inputted bythe user without further input necessary. The readable indicia programmay generate, for example, a high information profile with all theuser's information, a medium information profile with some of the user'sinformation and a low information profile with only a small amount ofthe user's information.

The next step, represented by block 320, is to receive user inputselecting one of the profiles. The user may be involved in a transactionand wish to provide user information to a merchant or other transactingentity, such as another person. The user may then select one of theuser-defined profiles, or in some embodiments, one of the automaticallygenerated user profiles. Finally, represented by block 330, the nextstep is to receive user input requesting generation of the readableindicia based on the selected profile, where generating the readableindicia includes encoding the user information associated with theselected profile.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a flowchart illustrates another method 400 forproviding user information to a merchant during a transaction. The firststep, represented by block 410, is to generate the readable indiciaencoding user information such that the readable indicia further encodespayment information in the case where the user wants to use the readableindicia for making a payment during a transaction. The next step,represented by block 420, is completing a transaction based on thepayment information encoded in the readable indicia.

In various embodiments, the readable indicia include an additionalsecurity mechanism, such as a required authentication code. For example,in order for the merchant to access the user information encoded in thereadable indicia, the user must input a PIN or other authentication codeto the merchant's system, such as a point of transaction system. Thisauthentication code may be encoded with the readable indicia so thatonce the authentication code is submitted, the information stored in thereadable indicia is unlocked.

In some instances, a readable indicia includes more information than isintended to be communicated to the third party. For example, a highinformation readable indicia may be generated and have multipleauthentication codes associated with it. One authentication code mayunlock all the user information stored in the readable indicia, andanother may unlock only a small amount of the user information stored inthe readable indicia. A user may then, once a merchant has scanned areadable indicia, input the desired authentication code, for release ofthe desired level of user information to the third party.

In some embodiments, the readable indicia is generated as a one-time usecode and requires entry of a secondary authentication code for access tothe information included in the indicia. For example, once the readableindicia has been scanned and the information included there has beenunlocked, the readable indicia may no longer be used for accessing theinformation. That is, another readable indicia must be generated forproviding information to a third party.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flowchart illustrates a method 500 forproviding information from use of readable indicia. In variousembodiments of the invention, a system of the invention, such as afinancial institution system or otherwise, tracks some or all the usesof readable indicia by a user. For example, the third party system orfinancial institution system, may track when a user uses a readableindicia at a merchant such as for providing loyalty information and/orpayment information to the merchant. The system then stores the trackinginformation and provides access to the information to the user and/orthe financial institution or other party having authorization to accessthe information. In some cases, information may be provided to merchantshaving a relationship with the financial institution storing thetracking information. In some embodiments, a receipt or e-receipt may bestored based on user input and/or preferences, and information regardingthe receipt may be available for consideration by those entitiesauthorized for access. In some instances, a financial institutionstoring readable indicia tracking information may be used to performfuture targeted marketing or other use cases, or a user may use thetracking information as an e-receipt storehouse. As another example, theuser may pay a merchant using the readable indicia of the mobile walletand the financial institution may determine the location of the mobiledevice and store receipts along with location information indicating thelocation where the transaction occurred.

The first step of method 500, represented by block 510, is to receiveusage information corresponding to a plurality of readable indicia readat one or more points of transaction. When a user's readable indicia isread by a merchant, the merchant system may communicate information to afinancial institution's system indicating that the readable indicia hasbeen scanned. The financial institution system may store that the readoccurred and may store other information associated with the read, asrepresented by block 520. The final step, represented by block 530, isto provide access to the stored usage information to an entity havingauthorization to access the information. For example, the user maydesire to access the information to review which locations the user hasprovided user information and/or performed other transactions.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flowchart illustrates another method 600 forproviding information from use of readable indicia. The first step,represented by block 610, is to receive e-receipts from points oftransaction. The next step, represented by block 620, is to store thee-receipts in the memory, and the final step, represented by block 630,is to associate each e-receipts with usage information corresponding tothe same transaction. These receipts/e-receipts may be stored based onuser input and/or preferences provided before the interaction or duringthe interaction/transaction.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flowchart illustrates another method 700 forproviding information from use of readable indicia. The first step,represented by block 710, is to receive a request from an online bankingapplication or a mobile banking application of a user for usageinformation. These requests may originate from a user's mobile device ordesktop computer or otherwise or may originate from a merchant or otherparty with authorization to access the usage information. The next step,represented by block 720, is to initiate presentation of some or all theusage information in response to the request. This may include accessinga collocated and/or remote database where the usage information isstored.

The next step, represented by block 730, is to initiate communication ofa message indicating to the user an opportunity to share additional userinformation to a specific merchant. This message may be communicated tothe user in response to the user presenting to a merchant or other thirdparty some information about the user, for example, the user's email andname. The message may be communicated to the user in order to urge theuser to communicate additional information to the third party, such asthe user's phone number, address or otherwise. The communication mayinclude an offer for the third party, such as a merchant to enter theuser into a loyalty program, provide an offer to the user, or otherwise.In some embodiments, the final step, represented by block 740, is toinitiate communication of a message indicating to the user informationabout a specific merchant or an offer from the specific merchant. Thus,the merchant or other third party may wish to communicate informationabout the merchant to the user. For example, when the user provide userinformation to the merchant during a transaction, the merchant may thensend the user a communication, such as a message to the email addressprovided by the user during the transaction, providing the userinformation about the merchant, the merchant's affiliates, offers fromthe merchant or the like.

In some embodiments, usage information or portions of the usageinformation may be provided to merchants or other third parties having arelationship with the financial institution storing the usageinformation. In some cases, users opt-in to allowing some or all theusage information to be provided to third parties. For example, a usermay want their usage information to be provided to merchants that mayprovide the user offers in the future.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a flowchart illustrates a method 800 forproviding user information to a merchant. In some embodiments, one ormore systems of the invention serve as a clearinghouse or storehouse foridentification information or other sensitive user information. A pointof sale or point of transaction may release information, a merchant maysend a receipt to the financial institution, and the financialinstitution may then take the information in, store it, and/or forwardit to the user or other third party with authorization. The financialinstitution system may also provide a safe and secure storehouse for theuser's identity information, where the information may be released onlywhen requested by the user. In this regard, the sensitive informationmay be stored remotely to the mobile device for security purposes.

The first step of method 800, represented by block 810, is to receive arequest from a merchant application for usage information correspondingto the merchant. The next step, represented by block 820, is to initiatepresentation of the usage information in response to the merchantrequest.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flowchart illustrates another method 900, forproviding user information to a merchant. The first step, represented byblock 910, is to receive and store user information in a user file. Thenext step, represented by block 920, is to receive a request from amerchant for user information stored in the user file in response to themerchant reading a readable indicia presented by a user using a mobiledevice. The final step, represented by block 930, is, in response to therequest for the user information, to retrieve the requested informationand transmit the requested information to the merchant.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a flowchart illustrates another method 1000for providing user information to a merchant. The first step,represented by block 1010, is to receive and store a plurality ofprofiles, where each profile is associated with the user informationstored in the user file. The next step, represented by block 1020, is toreceive user input, through a merchant, selecting one of the profiles.The next step, represented by block 1030, is to retrieve the requestedinformation including retrieving the user information associated withthe selected profile. The last step, represented by block 1040, is toinitiate communication to the mobile device of the user requestingupdated user information for storing in association with the user file.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flowchart illustrates another method 1100for providing user information to a merchant. The first step,represented by block 1110, is to receive updated user information, inresponse to the communication requesting updated user information andfrom the mobile device of the user. Then the updated user information isstored in association with the user file.

The next step, represented by block 1120, is to receive user input,through a merchant, selecting one of the profiles. The next step,represented by block 1130, is to retrieve the requested informationincluding retrieving the user information associated with the selectedprofile. The last step, represented by block 1140, is to initiatecommunication to the mobile device of the user requesting updated userinformation for storing in association with the user file.

In this regard, the financial institution system and/or other systemsmay serve as a storehouse for the user's identity information or othersensitive information. In some embodiments, the point of transactionsystem may release user information that was captured from a readableindicia of the user and the merchant may send a receipt to the financialinstitution confirming completion of the transaction. The financialinstitution may then take the information, store it, and/or forward itto the user or other party with authorization. The financial institutionmay provide a safe and secure storehouse for the user's identity, wherethe information may be released only when requested by the user or theuser's authorized agent. Thus, sensitive user information may be storedremotely to the mobile device of the user for security.

For example, in some embodiments, the financial institution hosts theuser's user information that may include marketing preferences, digitaloffers and the like. The financial institution may house the user'sinformation such as identity information such that a readable indiciaprovided to a third party by the user includes a link to the financialinstitution system, which may then release the user's informationimmediately or upon secondary authentication. In some embodiments, theprimary authentication is provided by the application running on theuser's mobile device, such as the user's mobile wallet. Thus, thereadable indicia generated and presented to the third party has alreadybeen authenticated.

Therefore, a user may access the financial institution system and updatehis or her user information at a single location. Then, when the userpresents a readable indicia linking to the financial institution system,the user is assured that the information being provided to the thirdparty is current and accurate. The information presented to a thirdparty by embodiments of the inventions described herein provide abenefit in that the information may be presented in a uniform,standardized format instead of every retailer, merchant or third partyhaving a unique format.

In some embodiments, when a point of transaction reads a readableindicia from a user, it determines a link that points to a financialinstitution server. The point of transaction may then provide anynecessary authentication information to retrieve the desired userinformation maintained by the financial institution server. For example,the point of transaction may provide information presented in thereadable indicia by the user, such as information identifying the mobiledevice of the user or the financial institution server may requestadditional authentication information from the point of transactionand/or the user. For example, the financial institution server mayrequest that the point of transaction receive supplementalauthentication information from the user before releasing any of theuser's information stored by the financial institution server. Forexample, the financial institution server may request a PIN or otherauthentication before releasing the requested user information to thepoint of transaction. In some embodiments, when the user presentsinformation to a third party, such as a merchant, informationidentifying the third party may be stored by the financial institutionfor later access by the user or other authorized parties.

In some embodiments, the financial institution server maintains adatabase of the user information that may be accessed by an alias of theuser. For example, the user may have a username or email address that isused as an alias for access and release of some or all the user'sinformation stored and maintained by the financial institution system.The alias may be encoded in a readable indicia presented to a thirdparty along with a link to the financial institution system foraccessing the user information. In this regard, the financialinstitution system serves as a secure storehouse for the user'sinformation. As discussed elsewhere herein, the financial institutionsystem may require supplemental authentication (such as a password, PINor otherwise) before releasing any of the user information to therequesting entity.

In some embodiments, when the user is presenting information to a thirdparty using a readable indicia, primary, secondary and/or additionalauthentication is required for certain profiles and less or noauthentication is required for other profiles. For example, the user mayindicate that for a low information profile, no authentication isrequired, for a medium information profile primary authentication (suchas from the mobile wallet of the mobile device of the user) is required,and for a high information profile both primary and secondaryauthentication are required (such as from the mobile wallet plus anadditional authentication such as a PIN built into the readable indiciaor otherwise).

In various embodiments, one or more of the method steps discussed abovemay be combined with one or more of the method steps discussed withreference to the same and/or different figures. In various embodimentsone or more of the method steps discussed above are not required and areomitted from the method. In various embodiments, one or more of themethod steps discussed above may be combined with one or more of theother method steps discussed above and/or one or more additional stepsnot discussed herein.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the term “module” withrespect to a system may refer to a hardware component of the system, asoftware component of the system, or a component of the system thatincludes both hardware and software. As used herein, a module mayinclude one or more modules, where each module may reside in separatepieces of hardware or software.

Although many embodiments of the present invention have just beendescribed above, the present invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Also, it will beunderstood that, where possible, any of the advantages, features,functions, devices, and/or operational aspects of any of the embodimentsof the present invention described and/or contemplated herein may beincluded in any of the other embodiments of the present inventiondescribed and/or contemplated herein, and/or vice versa. In addition,where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein aremeant to also include the plural form and/or vice versa, unlessexplicitly stated otherwise. Accordingly, the terms “a” and/or “an”shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is alsoused herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art in view ofthis disclosure, the present invention may include and/or be embodied asan apparatus (including, for example, a system, machine, device,computer program product, and/or the like), as a method (including, forexample, a business method, computer-implemented process, and/or thelike), or as any combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodimentsof the present invention may take the form of an entirely businessmethod embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware,resident software, micro-code, stored procedures in a database, etc.),an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining businessmethod, software, and hardware aspects that may generally be referred toherein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of the present inventionmay take the form of a computer program product that includes acomputer-readable storage medium having one or more computer-executableprogram code portions stored therein. As used herein, a processor, whichmay include one or more processors, may be “configured to” perform acertain function in a variety of ways, including, for example, by havingone or more general-purpose circuits perform the function by executingone or more computer-executable program code portions embodied in acomputer-readable medium, and/or by having one or moreapplication-specific circuits perform the function.

It will be understood that any suitable computer-readable medium may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limitedto, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a tangibleelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, and/orsemiconductor system, device, and/or other apparatus. For example, insome embodiments, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes atangible medium such as a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), and/or some other tangible optical and/ormagnetic storage device. In other embodiments of the present invention,however, the computer-readable medium may be transitory, such as, forexample, a propagation signal including computer-executable program codeportions embodied therein.

One or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying outoperations of the present invention may include object-oriented,scripted, and/or unscripted programming languages, such as, for example,Java, Perl, Smalltalk, C++, SAS, SQL, Python, Objective C, JavaScript,and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations ofembodiments of the present invention are written in conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languagesand/or similar programming languages. The computer program code mayalternatively or additionally be written in one or more multi-paradigmprogramming languages, such as, for example, F#.

Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of apparatusand/or methods. It will be understood that each block included in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and/or combinations ofblocks included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams,may be implemented by one or more computer-executable program codeportions. These one or more computer-executable program code portionsmay be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, and/or some other programmable data processingapparatus in order to produce a particular machine, such that the one ormore computer-executable program code portions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps and/or functionsrepresented by the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may be storedin a transitory and/or non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., amemory, etc.) that can direct, instruct, and/or cause a computer and/orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the computer-executable program code portions storedin the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufactureincluding instruction mechanisms which implement the steps and/orfunctions specified in the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s).

The one or more computer-executable program code portions may also beloaded onto a computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer and/or other programmable apparatus. In some embodiments, thisproduces a computer-implemented process such that the one or morecomputer-executable program code portions which execute on the computerand/or other programmable apparatus provide operational steps toimplement the steps specified in the flowchart(s) and/or the functionsspecified in the block diagram block(s). Alternatively,computer-implemented steps may be combined with, and/or replaced with,operator- and/or human-implemented steps in order to carry out anembodiment of the present invention.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other changes,combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition tothose set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that various adaptations, modifications, andcombinations of the just described embodiments can be configured withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it isto be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing user information to amerchant during a transaction, the system comprising: a memory devicestoring computer executable code; a processing device to execute thecomputer executable code to cause the processing device to: receive andstore user information, wherein: the user information is selected by auser; the user information comprises user identification informationcomprising name information and contact information comprising apreferred email address or phone number; and storing the userinformation comprises storing a plurality of user profiles eachassociated with some or all the user information, wherein the pluralityof user profiles comprises at least one of a low information profile, amedium information profile, and a high information profile; receive userinput from the user selecting one of the user profiles and requestinggeneration of a readable indicia encoding the selected one of the userprofiles; generate the readable indicia encoding the selected userprofile and the user information associated with the selected userprofile; initiate display of the readable indicia on a display forpresentation to the merchant such that the merchant may read thereadable indicia and determine some or all of the user informationstored in the readable indicia, wherein reading the readable indiciafurther comprises: determining whether the user profile associated withthe readable indicia is at least one of a low information profile, amedium information profile, or a high information profile; receiving oneor more authentication credentials from the user based on at least thedetermined user profile, wherein a high information profile requires aprimary authentication and a secondary authentication, wherein a mediuminformation profile requires a primary authentication, and a lowinformation profile does not require any authentication credential; andvalidating the one or more received authentication credentials; storethe determined user profile in a user file; initiate communication tothe mobile device of the user requesting updated user informationassociated with the determined user profile; receive updated userinformation from the user; and store the updated user information in theuser file.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer executablecode further causes the processing device to: receive and store the userinformation in the memory device.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thecomputer executable code further causes the processing device to:receive user input requesting generation of the readable indicia.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the computer executable code further causesthe processing device to: receive and store the user information in thememory device; and receive and store a plurality of profiles, whereineach profile is associated with some or all the stored user information.5. The system of claim 4, wherein the computer executable code furthercauses the processing device to: receive user input selecting one of theprofiles; receive user input requesting generation of the readableindicia based on the selected profile; and wherein generating thereadable indicia comprises encoding at least the user informationassociated with the profile selected by the user.
 6. The system of claim1, wherein generating the readable indicia encoding some or all the userinformation comprises generating the readable indicia to further encodepayment information.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the merchantcompletes the transaction based at least in part on the paymentinformation.
 8. A computer program product configured for providing userinformation to a merchant during a transaction, the computer programproduct comprising a non-transient computer readable medium havingcomputer executable code stored thereon to cause a processing device to:receive and store user information, wherein: the user information isselected by a user; the user information comprises user identificationinformation comprising name information and contact informationcomprising a preferred email address or phone number; and storing theuser information comprises storing a plurality of user profiles eachassociated with some or all the user information, wherein the pluralityof user profiles comprises at least one of a low information profile, amedium information profile, and a high information profile; receive userinput from the user selecting one of the user profiles and requestinggeneration of a readable indicia encoding the selected one of the userprofiles; generate the readable indicia encoding the selected userprofile and the user information associated with the selected userprofile; initiate display of the readable indicia on a display forpresentation to the merchant such that the merchant may read thereadable indicia and determine some or all of the user informationstored in the readable indicia, wherein reading the readable indiciafurther comprises: determining whether the user profile associated withthe readable indicia is at least one of a low information profile, amedium information profile, or a high information profile; receiving oneor more authentication credentials from the user based on at least thedetermined user profile, wherein a high information profile requires aprimary authentication and a secondary authentication, wherein a mediuminformation profile requires a primary authentication, and a lowinformation profile does not require any authentication credential; andvalidating the one or more received authentication credentials; storethe determined user profile in a user file; initiate communication tothe mobile device of the user requesting updated user informationassociated with the determined user profile; receive updated userinformation from the user; and store the updated user information in theuser file.
 9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein thecomputer executable code is further to cause the processing device to:receive and store the user information in the memory device.
 10. Thecomputer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer executablecode is further to cause the processing device to: receive user inputrequesting generation of the readable indicia.
 11. The computer programproduct of claim 8, wherein the computer executable code is further tocause the processing device to: receive and store the user informationin the memory device; and receive and store a plurality of profiles,wherein each profile is associated with some or all the stored userinformation.
 12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein thecomputer executable code is further to cause the processing device to:receive user input selecting one of the profiles; receive user inputrequesting generation of the readable indicia based on the selectedprofile; and wherein generating the readable indicia comprises encodingat least the user information associated with the profile selected bythe user.
 13. The computer program product of claim 8, whereingenerating the readable indicia encoding some or all the userinformation comprises generating the readable indicia to further encodepayment information.
 14. The computer program product of claim 13,wherein the merchant completes the transaction based at least in part onthe payment information.
 15. A computer-implemented method for providinguser information to a merchant during a transaction, the methodcomprising: providing a memory device storing computer executable codeand a processing device to execute the computer executable code to causethe processing device to: receive and store user information, wherein:the user information is selected by a user; the user informationcomprises user identification information comprising name informationand contact information comprising a preferred email address or phonenumber; and storing the user information comprises storing a pluralityof user profiles each associated with some or all the user information,wherein the plurality of user profiles comprises at least one of a lowinformation profile, a medium information profile, and a highinformation profile; receive user input from the user selecting one ofthe user profiles and requesting generation of a readable indiciaencoding the selected one of the user profiles; generate the readableindicia encoding the selected user profile and the user informationassociated with the selected user profile; initiate display of thereadable indicia on a display for presentation to the merchant such thatthe merchant may read the readable indicia and determine some or all ofthe user information stored in the readable indicia, wherein reading thereadable indicia further comprises: determining whether the user profileassociated with the readable indicia is at least one of a lowinformation profile, a medium information profile, or a high informationprofile; receiving one or more authentication credentials from the userbased on at least the determined user profile, wherein a highinformation profile requires a primary authentication and a secondaryauthentication, wherein a medium information profile requires a primaryauthentication, and a low information profile does not require anyauthentication credential; and validating the one or more receivedauthentication credentials; store the determined user profile in a userfile; initiate communication to the mobile device of the user requestingupdated user information associated with the determined user profile;receive updated user information from the user; and store the updateduser information in the user file.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinthe computer executable code further causes the processing device to:receive and store the user information in the memory device.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the computer executable code further causesthe processing device to: receive user input requesting generation ofthe readable indicia.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the computerexecutable code further causes the processing device to: receive andstore the user information in the memory device; and receive and store aplurality of profiles, wherein each profile is associated with some orall the stored user information.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein thecomputer executable code further causes the processing device to:receive user input selecting one of the profiles; receive user inputrequesting generation of the readable indicia based on the selectedprofile; and wherein generating the readable indicia comprises encodingat least the user information associated with the profile selected bythe user.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the readableindicia encoding some or all the user information comprises generatingthe readable indicia to further encode payment information.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the merchant completes the transaction basedat least in part on the payment information.